Hello Folks! Scott here with a new batch of ten cards inspired by the My Monthly Hero November 2023 Kits! More holiday cheer is headed our way this month with jam-packed kits featuring mail art, rub-ons, stencils and more!

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• Mail Art Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• 28 Coordinating Dies
• 2 Postage Stamp Frame Fancy Dies
• 1 Sheet of Message Hero Transfers, 6″ x 8″
• 27 Assorted Envelopes in Red, Kraft and White (A1, A2, A7 sizes)
• 10 Sheets of Blank Washi Sticker Paper, 6″ x 6″
• 4 Wax Seal Stickers

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES:
• Everything in the Classic Kit AND…
• Peeking Critters Clear Stamp Set, 3″ x 4″•
• 2 Color Layering Snowflake Stencils, 5.25″ x 6.5″
• 2 Sheets of Gift Hero Transfers, 6″ x 8″
• 2 Ink Cubes (Pool Party Reactive Ink, Mist Core Ink)

As usual, I’ll make my first five cards using just the Classic Kit, and will bring in all the goodies for the rest. I don’t think I have ever seen blank sheets of Washi Tape before…! My first instinct was to stamp one of those sheets with a full pattern background stamp. This is a Love From Lizi Candystripe Background Stamp and the Hero Hues Crimson Core ink. You know, I can be very literal sometimes… and figured this could be cut into strips… like washi tape!

I was really looking forward to doing some coloring with this kit…! When I get a stamp set with lots of smaller images, sometimes my mind starts thinking of scenes… combining smaller images together for something a little bigger!

I thought this pair of owls fit on the mailbox perfectly, so I stamped them both with HA Intense Black ink (very simple straight line mask to disappear their tails) and colored them with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers.

Here’s a quick shot of the colors I used… I did add some texture to the owls with a white gel pen, and used some colored pencils for the letters in the mailbox and some blending on the owls.

I did some partial die-cutting to keep the owls and mailbox together – there’s a pretty straight line where the stamps intersect so the die-cutting was pretty easy.

I cut a scrap of White card stock to 1.75″ x 4.25″ to go behind the mailbox and took the large stamp die in the kit and (partially die-cut) it twice with some striped pattern paper – giving me (appx) a 2″ x 4.5″ “mat” to go behind the white, then cut a 2 1/8″ x 4 5/8″ black mat to go behind it all. I attached the mailbox on top with foam tape and glued all to an A2 White card base.

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock with Intense Black ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. I die-cut that with the matching die along with three more “blanks” and glued them all together for a nice chunky die-cut sentiment. I glued that to the mailbox post. Two half-inch strips of my stamped washi tape finish out the front of this card. That red-and-white diagonal stripe has echoes of “air mail” or “international” postage. Nice touch! This would be a fine Christmas card but could also be used for a (winter) birthday as well… I didn’t specify…!

I did think it was funny to have Owls and Mice in a stamp set together… talk about predator and prey!! I gamely resisted all my darker instincts, and vowed to keep the holidays cheerful and light and avoid any carnage!

More stamp combining here! I did do some careful masking for this group – I stamped the mouse w/heart first (Intense Black Ink on Bristol Smooth card stock) cut a mask for his bottom, feet and tail, and then stamped the package underneath him. I masked off the left side of the package (easy!) and stamped the mouse w/bow. Then I stamped the dashed-line box with HA Crimson ink – lining it up with the aid of the stamp die. I colored all with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers adding a bit of horizon and sky as well. Then I stamped and embossed the “Special Holiday Delivery” and die-cut the whole image with the square stamp die.

I stamped the sentiment in a scrap of White card stock and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I die-cut the sentiment and three more “blanks” and glued them all together. I love this piece of pattern paper (3.5″ x 5.5″) from my stash, and I used a scalloped heart border punch on the two edges. I glued that down to the center of a White A2 card base, glued the sentiment flat to the card front and added the “stamp” with foam tape. Finally I took a little fimo clay heart and glued it over the stamped (black) heart above the mouse’s head. Adorable little scene!

Then, of course, there’s the Mom and baby owls… I couldn’t resist them and wanted to give them a bit of a perch…

I stamped the pair (Intense Black ink) on some Bristol Smooth Card stock, and lightly sketched in a tree for them. I painted all with my Zig markers giving the owls a little blue “halo” for emphasis, and using a white gel pen for some texture and highlights. I lastly spattered some snow all around using last month’s Super Opaque White Acrylic spray. When everything was dry, I trimmed the painted panel to 3″ x 4.75″, added a blue mat (3.25″ x 5″) and a thinner black mat and glued them all down to a White A2 card base. The sentiment is rubbed-on to a scrap of White card stock and trimmed to size – attached to the card front with foam tape. Love this very painterly approach to these cuddly owls!

Instead of the natural Owls vs. Mice conflict, how about an expression of solidarity? Or maybe even love??

This tickles me! Again, both images are stamped with Intense Black ink on Bristol Smooth Card stock and colored with my Zig markers. I thought the “Wishing you OWL the joy” sentiment was a bit clunky… Wishing you all the BEST… yes… but I’ve never heard anyone wishing you all the Joy. So I excised the “owl” away from the rest of the sentiment and stamped that below our images. Then it was a simple matter of printing “my love” using my Silhouette Software and the Arial Rounded MT Bold font. (I got that slightly off-center… the glitter heart to the left helps!) and printing that on the colored panel before cutting.

I die-cut the image with a Tonic Studio Scalloped Square Layering Basics die, (2.5″ x2.5″) matted that on a piece of red dotted pattern paper (3 1/8″ x 3 1/8″) and a thin (3.25″ x 3.25″) black mat. I masked off an inch on each side of an A2 card front and blended the SSS Falling Hearts Stencil with Crimson ink down the center. I defined the edges of the stenciling with some Love From Lizi Red Glitter peel-offs. I attached the matted artwork at a jaunty angle using Foam tape, and added the two LFL Red Glitter hearts. The owl seems slightly embarrassed here… or he’s just resisting the urge to eat!!

The one big flying owl in the stamp set is wearing a scarf… seems everyone takes that to be a Gryffindor scarf and the owl to be Harry Potter’s Hedwig. Okay!

I stamped the Owl, the package, the feathers and the envelopes on some White card stock using HA Soft Granite ink. Since Hedwig is a White Owl, I colored everything very lightly with colored pencils – I added a lot of feather detail to Hedwig’s wings and, of course, colored the scarf in Red and Gold. I die-cut all the images using partial die-cutting to keep the owl and package together. (The trail of letters suggests the Weasley’s accident-prone Errol!) I cut a panel of Pitch Black card stock to 5.25″ x 4″ and spattered some stars on that panel using the Super Opaque White Acrylic spray from last month. I glued that down to a White A2 card base.

I grabbed the castle die from the MMH August 2019 Kit and die-cut that in some dark grey card stock – extending that to 5″ wide and adding some Ivory card behind the windows. The moon is created using the Tim Holtz – Stampers Anonymous Moon Mask Layering Stencil on light grey card stock inked with the Soft Granite ink and die-cut with a HA Nesting Circle Infinity die. I glued the moon and castle flat to the card front – adding the owl silhouette stamp over the moon. I stamped the sentiment with HA Unicorn White ink and embossed that with White embossing powder. Finally I added all the die cuts with foam tape. VERY Harry Potter! To keep this in the realm of a Holiday card, I did stamp the “Have a Magical Christmas” sentiment on the inside of the card. Perfect for ANY Potter-head!

That’s five cards using the Classic Kit… there are more stamps in this set, but I almost covered them all! Now we can dig into the Premium supplies! My eyes immediately went to the Layering Snowflake stencils.

I wanted to feature the entire stencil, so I cut a piece of Neenah Solar White card stock to 5.25′ x 6.5″ to match the stencil and used the Mist Ink for the first (open) layer and the Pool Party ink for the detail layer. I also ink blended the Mist ink around the edges of the panel. Quite simple stencils actually, but VERY pretty results (even though there IS an eight-pointed snowflake (sacrilege!) on the bottom left). I couldn’t bring myself to lose any of the snowflakes so I decided to make a 5″ x 7″ card with this. I trimmed an eight of an inch off the top and bottom to get it to 5″ and since I started with a 6.5″ piece of card stock, I decided to leave it at 5″ x 6.5″ – it fits the A7 envelopes just fine! I glued the inked panel to a 5′ x 6.5″ card base.

I don’t have a lot of large sentiment dies, so I went digging through my stash and found this old LFL Winter Wishes Die! I die-cut the sentiment from some Tim Holtz Metallic Jewels Kraft core card stock and glued it into place. For some sparkle I grabbed the Snowflake Sequins from the MMH November 2022 kit and glued those to the centers of the snow flakes and around the sentiment. These sequins are extra shiny and give this card some terrific sparkle!

I does appear that the folks at Hero Arts have gone a little “peeking critters” crazy this season… they are a big feature in the Christmas release catalog and this is the second month we’ve gotten “peeking” items in our kits!

And here’s a perfect way to use all those “peeking” stamps on one card! We do have A1 envelopes in our kit, so I decided to do a Thank You card sized at 3.5″ x 4 7/8″. This size card is most often used as an RSVP or reception card, so I thought a Thank You card was right in line with that. I cut a piece of Bristol Smooth card stock to 2.5″ square and stamped our four peeping toms around the edges. I colored all with my Zig markers again and used a white gel pen for some highlights and texture. I added a 2. 5/8″ mat of white behind the colored panel and a 2.75″ mat of black behind that.

The “Thanks” stamp is from the Lawn Fawn Big Scripty Words stamp set and the “from all of us” sentiment is from the MMH October 2021 Kit. I stamped those both on the card front using Intense Black ink and glued the painted and matted panels flat to the card front. A few Black gems adds a touch of sparkle to this fun Thank You card. From All Of Us!!

As if the rub-on sentiments in the Classic kit weren’t enough, we also get a big batch of rub-on presents with the Premium Kit! I feel another pun coming on…!

And a hearty giggle from me!! In order to carry out this big idea (without wasting any rub-ons!) I decided to run a copy of the rub-on sheet (just in black and white) and roughly cut-out all the presents to help me arrange them on the card front. The rub-ons give you lots of flexibility in arrangement – the second from the left stack of two presents on the bottom is actually two single presents stacked on top of each other – I just cut the bow off the bottom present! Once I decided on an arrangement I started rubbing-on the presents to an A2 card front – left-to-right, bottom-to-top. Really terrific, bright, cheerful, joyfully colored presents!

I printed the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock using my Silhouette Software and the Dream State font (22pt.) and die cut that with a Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banners die. I glued that to the card front and added two sprigs of rub-on holly to frame it out. 17 gifts seems like quite a haul! The colors are so fun I decided that no sparkle was required! I did stamp the “Happy Holidays to You!” sentiment on the inside to complete the card. LOVE this pun!

Now I’ve actually used a little bit of everything in this kit… but we still have two cards to go… in my never-ending quest to use every stamp in a stamp set, my eye stopped at the horned owl stamp – this stamp seems like it was drawn by a different person – the other owls seem like they are striving for a sense of realism, but the horned owl stamp seems a little cartoony. Let’s embrace that and see what we get…

A little reverse stamping, some unexpected colors and another Owl pun makes for a cheerful Valentine! Using a silicone mat, I reverse stamped the owl on the left on some Bristol Smooth Card stock and stamped her buddy (normal stamping) next to her. I colored both in some fun colors using my Zig markers and used a white gel pen for some texture. I thought it would be fun if they were standing on the sentiment banner, so I created the “owl you need is love” sentiment using the Owl stamp from the kit and printing the rest exactly like the “owl my love” card. I die-cut that with another LF Everyday Sentiment Banners die.

I fussy-cut the owls and trimmed out their talons and their wings so I could tuck the banner in behind them. When in place, I glued them together. I die-cut a panel of White card stock to 3.75″ x 5″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and dry-embossed that with an old Darice Diagonal Hearts embossing folder. I glued that to a 4″ x 5.25″ mat of Dotted Pink card stock and glued those to an A2 White card base. I die-cut a heart from the same Pink patter paper using a HA Nesting Hearts Infinity die, and glued that on the card front. I added the owls and banner with foam tape and sprinkled in a few heart shaped glitter pieces among the sentiment. Fun pun and a charming valentine!

I do like using Deco-foil (and Transfer Gel) with stencils, (FOILING!!) and I was interested in seeing how much of the snowflake stencil I could get on a normal A2 card.

I simply used the two long sides of the stencil – masking off the center snowflakes on both of the short sides. I ink blended the Mist ink through the first (open) stencil, and then used Deco-foil Transfer Gel through the detail stencil. I did have to do one half of the card at a time – using a palette knife to spread the gel on the top snowflakes, letting that dry, and then doing the same on the bottom snowflakes and then letting them dry before sending the whole panel through my laminating machine with Silver Shattered Glass Deco Foil. Came out spectacularly! I did add a little ink blending around the edges with the Mist ink as well.

I found this die-cut sentiment in my stash and die cut it from a variety of mirrored and holographic card stocks. I finally settled on this holographic card stock because it made rainbows like the foil. Not wanting to waste anything, I glued all my trial die-cuts together and glued the chunky sentiment to the card front. I added a holographic mat behind the card front and glued all down to an A2 card base. A few more Snowflake sequins adds to the overall sparkle and shine! Sometimes I have to remind myself how truly glorious foiling can be!

Now I am not a big envelope decorator… I fear too many of my cards end up in the trash, so I figure the chances are even better that most envelopes end up in the trash! However, we did get a lot of envelopes in this kit and those did inspire me to make some out-of-the-ordinary card sizes this month… here’s some simple card decorationsI did for the three envelope sizes provided.

The A2 envelope sports the candy stripe washi tape on the flap like the first card… The A1 envelope has the peeking bear to go along with the A1 thank you card… the A7 envelope has some stenciled snowflakes like the Winter Wishes card. The teal Wax Seal sticker would work on this envelope! Cute, and certainly eye-catching, but I figure I’m doing well just to get the correct address and postage on an envelope!!

That wraps up my 10 cards suggested by the My Monthly Hero November 2023 Kits! Seems I really got into some watercoloring this month! and we even got some good puns here as well!

I almost used every stamp in our two sets… there are SO MANY stamps in this kit! I used some of the washi sheets and one of the postage stamp frame dies and one of the rub-on sentiments and some of the envelopes (all those envelopes will certainly get used!)… and the critters and the stencils and the transfers and the inks… Interesting Owl theme here… don’t think I have many owls in my stash…! I really like the snowflake stencils and all the rub-ons! We’ve got a good many holiday cards here and a couple of valentines and even a thank you card… nice variety for a holiday kit!

These kits are still available at Hero Arts… looks like the Premium Elements option has sold out but the kits are still available! If you like what I’ve done with this kit, or have ideas of your own, I would recommend grabbing a kit for yourself before they all sell out! Please use my link when you go shopping at Hero Arts… THANK YOU!!

My Monthly Hero November 2023 Classic Kit: http://shrsl.com/4b9ug

My Monthly Hero November 2023 Premium Kit: http://shrsl.com/4b9ui

My Monthly Hero November 2023 Full Collection: http://shrsl.com/4bad5

Thanks so much for sharing some time with me here today! Your encouragement and support means the world to me! Please take some time to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Share me with all your friends (and enemies!!) remember… Don’t run with scissors…! and, as always, I send you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Hello Folks! Scott here! Back from a lovely vacation to find the My Monthly Hero October kits waiting for me! This month, we start looking ahead to Christmas and a snowy night in the forest! Big window (and sentiment) dies, and fun stamps highlight this collection.

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• 3 Large Scene Fancy Dies
• 4 Fancy Word Dies
• Swirl Snow Clear Stamp Set, 3″ x 4″
• 4 Sheets of Pitch Black Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 4 Sheets each of White, Slate, Winter Blue & Frosted Blue Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• White Acrylic Spray, 1 oz.

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES:
• Everything in the Classic Kit AND…
• 3 Mini Peeking Fancy Dies
• Nordic Layering Clear Stamp Set, 4″ x 6″
• 20 Vellum Snowflakes

We get a huge stack of card stock in the Classic Kit, so I figured I’d dive right in and use the Large Scene Fancy Dies and the provided card stock for my first card this month. As usual, I’ll make my first five cards using only the Classic Kit!

I cut a piece of the Frosted Blue card stock to 4.25″ x 5.5″and die-cut the largest fancy die (with the big trees) from that. I cut a piece of the Winter Blue card stock to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and die cut the second fancy die (just the tree and ground) from that. I did line up that die with the first die cut to make sure it was properly exposed, and that the card stock went to the bottom of the card – to provide color behind the “snow drifts” on the first die cut. Now, colors should get lighter the farther away they are, so I grabbed an A2 piece of Hero Hues Arctic card stock and die-cut the third fancy die (with trees and sky) from that – again making sure it was positioned correctly behind the other die cuts and went all the way to the bottom of the card front. Those three Fancy Dies work together wonderfully!

On a White A2 card base I stamped the Swirl Snow stamps with Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed those with Glacier Blue embossing powder (from the MMH Oct. 2020 kit!) (really good match to the Winter Blue card stock). I did add the stamp of the single line of snow to the right and left of the Swirl Snow stamps (curved to match) to fill in the background. I die-cut the sentiment from the Frosted Blue card stock and its shadows from some heavyweight vellum, and glued those together. I glued the big die cuts directly to the card front and added the die cut sentiment towards the bottom. I think it’s really interesting how the Swirl Snow stamps and the Fancy dies work together to really “draw you in” to this chilly winter scene.

I have to admit that the third Fancy die (trees and sky) gave me a little pause… there’s a window opening around the trees, but then there are the stars and moon die-cut into the top part of that window… so which part is actually the sky…!? I know… I know, I can be so literal sometimes…! I decided to dig through my stash hoping to find some White glitter card stock to piece into the moon and stars cut-out openings…

While digging through my stash, I came across this amazing Black Glitter card stock – this was from the Jan. 2021 MMH kit – that most popular “bee” kit! I thought it would work perfectly with that third fancy die. I cut that to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and glued it to an A2 card base. I cut a piece of the Slate card stock to 4.25″ x 5.5″ and die-cut the fancy die from that – positioning it so there would be plenty of room for the sentiment on the bottom.

The Fancy Word die is cut from the same glitter card stock, and I did some partial die-cutting on the two shadow dies to give me a single shadow for both words. I glued the glitter words to the vellum shadow and added that to the front of the card. For a final touch, I added some small red and blue crystals to the tree for a little touch of Christmas bling. This die is probably “the die most likely to be used alone” from this set, and I almost don’t mind the little sky confusion when it’s used this way!

Of course I decided I could simply cut away the faux “sky” on that die and only use the trees and the landscape!

I die-cut the bottom (ground) part of all three dies from some multi-media card stock – again taking into account the spacing and providing color to the ground swirls. Then I paper-pieced all of the trees from some browns and green card stock in my stash – I did cut away all the white trees and glued the brown trees behind the multi-media white. I also used a little alcohol marker on the front trees and the evergreen trees to add a little dimension.

I trimmed the whole “sky” completely away from the third Fancy die… leaving just the trees, and then die cut (and fussy-cut) more of those trees and glued those behind the snow to add some fill to the forest! I spattered a 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″ piece of Pitch Black card stock using the White Acrylic spray, and glued all the die cut layers on top (trimming where necessary). The moon is the Slate die cut from card #2 that I painted with more of the White Acrylic Spray – just put some on an acrylic block and painted from that. Really good opacity with that paint! Nice bright white! I glued the moon in place behind all the trees.

I found this sentiment in my stash (Love From Lizi Silent Night Stamp set from November of 2019 – still available!) and stamped that on a scrap of plain white card stock, die cut it with a HA Nesting Infinity Circle die, and added that to the card front with some foam tape. A snowy night in the forest indeed! Silent Night.. Snowy Night… I really like this!

You must know by now that if we have portrait orientation dies in our kit, then I am going to figure out how to use them in a landscape orientation!

Again, sticking to the old adage that things get lighter the farther away they are, I die-cut the Fancy Dies from Pitch Black, Slate (from the kit) Hero Hues Pebble, and the background is some plain Staples Grey card stock from my stash. Using 4.25″ x 5.5″ panels of all the colors, I die-cut the black piece using the top (straight) edge of the die as a guide, and lining up the tree trunks to be on the edge. That left me nothing along the bottom of the black die cut, so I trimmed a 1/4″ piece of card stock and glued that to the bottom of the left and right trees to make the lower part of the frame.

The Slate layer was die-cut with the single tree die – this one was easy to make wider as there was no definitive 4.25″ edge cut on that die – extended that die to the right. I did the same on the Pebble card stock layer (extending the die-cut to the right) and trimming all the trees away. I stamped the Swirl Snow stamps (and three of the single line of snow stamps curved around on the sides) on an A2 panel of Staples Grey card stock with Unicorn White ink and embossed those with HA White embossing Powder. I glued all the layers to a White A2 card base.

That left me with a fairly limited space to add a sentiment. I didn’t really want a die-cut sentiment, so I went with this simple “Love You” from the HA Many Everyday Messages stamp set. I stamped and embossed that the same as the Snow Swirls, and we have a nice wintery profession of love! A simple “Miss You” would work on this card as well!

Concentric circles of snow are terrifically interesting, but what if they were a true spiral? Any difference there?

Of course! I think that’s interesting enough to feature on a card by itself! I cut the three circle stamps at the places where there was a little extra space between the dots and arranged the three of them into a spiral on the lid of my MISTI and added the straight line of snow to the end to complete the spiral. I stamped this on a panel of the Winter Blue card stock with Unicorn White ink and embossed it with White embossing powder. I ink blended Splash and Blue Hawaii Reactive ink over the spiral and added the “star” stamp (embossed as well!) right in the center.

I die-cut the stamped panel with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die, added a thin Black mat behind, and then a thicker mat of the Frosted Blue card stock behind the black. I glued those to a White A2 card base. I grabbed this sentiment from the MMH Dec. 2022 (space cadets) kit, stamped it with Intense Black ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. I think the “Swirl Snow” stamps work perfectly well as stars, and the spiral really draws you in!

That covers my five cards made with just the Classic Kit… Now we can dig in to the Premium Kit supplies!

The Mini Peeking Fancy dies are quite cute (“peeking” images seem to be a big theme at HA this season!) though these three dies are really small! I thought they were a bit silly used with the Fancy Tree dies (the deer would have to be behind a tree at the edge of a card because we have no deer butt!) and they don’t particularly seem to be the same scale… compared to the deer, the fox is huge, and the bear is minuscule… So I figured they could be used peeking out from behind a sentiment label!

I die-cut another panel of the Winter Blue card stock to 4.5″ x 3.25″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and embossed that with an old Darice snowflake embossing folder, did some ink blending around the edges with Blue Hawaii Reactive ink, and then added some Unicorn White onto the top of the embossing with a small ink brayer. I added a dark Blue mat behind the embossed panel and glued those to a White A2 card base.

I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock using Unicorn White ink and White embossing powder, trimmed that to 1.5″ x 3.125″ and ink blended Splash ink over the whole sentiment. I die-cut the fox from a scrap of Ivory card stock and the Deer from a scrap of White card stock and added some color to both with colored pencils… that deer appears to be a little surprised! I added a thin dark Blue mat behind the sentiment and attached the animals to the edges. The deer would make the sentiment way too wide if he was peeking out from the side, so a corner peek seemed appropriate for him.

I die-cut more of the trees from the first Fancy Scene die from some scraps of multi-media card stock, gave them matching stitched edges with the LFSRdie, and glued those to the card front. I added the sentiment panel with our peeking critters to the front with foam tape, and finished everything off with some clear crystals for a nice touch of sparkle. I like the deer’s antlers poking up above the panel and it looks like the fox is actually holding the panel up!

The vellum snowflakes included with the Premium kit are quite beautiful, but the foiled parts are so thin and detailed that I immediately ruled out popping them up with foam tape… what if we could just glue them directly to the card?

I began by stamping the sentiment on a panel of the Winter Blue card stock using Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed that with HA Silver Embossing powder. Using a Zyron Sticker maker, I covered the back of the four snowflakes with adhesive and glued them to the panel around the sentiment. There was a touch more room around the sentiment that I filled in with some of the snowflake stamps – embossing those in the Silver Embossing powder as well. I die-cut that panel with a SSS Modern Postage Stamp Rectangle die.

I die-cut some White card stock to 5″ x 3.75″ with another LFSRdie and added a thin grey mat behind. I ink blended a little shadow on the White panel with Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide ink and a matching Postage Stamp stencil. I glued everything together and down to an A2 White card base. The Silver embossing powder matches the silver foiling on the snowflakes quite nicely! Enough shine here that I felt no embellishments were required!

Nordic Layering Clear Stamp Set. Hm. Interesting… but other than the four Large sentiments, the stamps are fairly small.

I decide to soldier on with the sentiments in this set… you know I strive to use all the stamps in a set whenever I can…! Keeping with the Blue theme of this kit, I stamped the sentiment on the front of a Mini-Slimline card (3.25″x6.25″) using Splash and Blue Hawaii Reactive inks for a bit of an ombre effect, and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. Then I started building up the background stamping the four ornaments with the same inks. I stamped and embossed the ornament decorations with Silver embossing powder, and then stamped the holly and berries around the sentiment with the same blue inks.

More embossing was needed so I stamp the snowflakes with Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed them with the Silver embossing powder. I did the faintest bit of ink blending with Splash ink on the vertical sides of the card front and called it a night. Wow! This is actually, completely, and truly, a one layer card! Nice!

Most everything has been blue or grey up to this point, so I thought now would be a good time to introduce some color!

Merry Christmas was the only sentiment stamp left, so I went with red – Cherry Core ink from Hero Arts – a nice rich red perfect for pairing up with black! I stamped the sentiment on a panel of White card stock with the Cherry ink and used a small blending brush to add some Intense Black ink along the bottom edges of the text. I actually thought about cutting the words apart but there’s not enough room for that between the y and the m… a tiny blending bush worked well to give us a little ombre effect on the sentiment.

The rest of the stamps are arranged around the sentiment and stamped with the same inks. There’s actually quite a number of possibilities with how you can layer these stamps. I kept things pretty straightforward while staying true to the red and black palette. I die-cut the stamped panel with a LFSRdie, added a thin mat of Red and a thin mat of Black and glued that to a White card base. For a final embellishment, red and black gems highlight the flowers and dot the i!

The Mini Peeking Bear die initially seemed a little creepy to me… but I had a couple of them sitting on my desk and after playing with them a bit, they suggested this card to me.

Awwwww!!! I Die-cut the bears from 2 colors of the HA Colors of Earth card stock, added some muzzles and bellies with a simple white colored pencil, and glued them together. I did trim the belly on the front bear a little, giving it a bit of a curve under his arm. They are on a piece of Pitch Black card stock die-cut with a HA Tag Frame Infinity die.

I printed this sentiment on the front of a White A2 card base using my Silhouette Software and the American Typewriter font. I glued the tag to the printed card front and added the bears with foam tape. What a terrific card! “I’ve got your back” is an amazing sentiment and the bears really illustrate that with total charm! I am loving this!

And, just like that, we’re done with our 10 cards inspired by the My Monthly Hero October ’23 Classic and Premium Kits! What an interesting batch of cards this month… I first thought these all seem quite simple… why did they take me so much time…? Then I started writing about them here, and I realized there’s a lot more going on than what simply meets the eye! I think I would have to say that this is a deceptively simple – yet quite adaptable kit this month!

I do detect a theme here…!! The Large Scene Fancy dies are pretty spectacular and quite versatile as well! Large die-cut sentiments are always a great addition to your stash, and between the optical illusion of the Swirl Snow Stamps and the layering possibilities of the Nordic Layering Stamps, this is a useful collection of stamps as well! I did manage to use all of the Nordic stamps and almost all of the Swirl Snow stamps. The White Acrylic spray is terrifically opaque and the vellum snowflakes warrant another look… No puns this month but I think the snuggling bears make up for that! Let me know which cards are your favorites!

These kits are still available at Hero Arts! If you see something you like here, or if I’ve given you another, better idea, then please use my links below to grab a kit for yourself! Your support helps maintain this page and is always appreciated!

My Monthly Hero October 2023 Classic Kit: http://shrsl.com/4a742

My Monthly Hero October 2023 Premium Kit: http://shrsl.com/4a748

My Monthly Hero Premium Elements (nothing from the Classic Kit): http://shrsl.com/4a74d

Thank you so much for sharing some of your precious time with me here today. I am so appreciative and humbled by your attention. I’m sorry this post is so late this month, but my (when I say it was “much needed” I really mean it!) vacation really put me behind. I also forget how tiring traveling can be!! West Coast jet lag really got me this time! Please remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Share me with all your friends (and enemies!)… have a safe and Happy Halloween.. Don’t run with scissors..! And as always, I send you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Hello Folks! Scott here today with my ten cards inspired by the My Monthly Hero September 2023 Classic and Premium Kits! This fall-themed kit includes one of Hero Arts most popular product combinations – a window die with coordinating layering stencils! Mushrooms, autumn leaves and capering critters adorn this release.

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• Fall Messages Clear Stamp Set, 4″ x 6″
• 3 Color Layering Stencils, 5.25″ x 6.5″
• Coordinating Fall Window Die
• 4 Core Ink Cubes (Spicy Mustard, Caramel, Cherry, Espresso)
• 8 Clear Card Panels, 4.25″ x 5.5″
• Unicorn Lacquer Pen

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES:
• Everything in the Classic Kit AND…
• Autumn Critters Clear Stamp, 4″ x 6″
• 10 Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 6 Leaf Fancy Dies
• Contour Ink Pad
• 2 Sheets Bronze Glitter Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″

So much stuff in our kits this month! As usual, I will make my first five cards using only the Classic Kit… lots of sentiments there but really only one image revealed by the Layering Stencils / Window Die. Let’s dive right in!

I took those Layering Stencils and the included Ink cubes and ink blended the stencils on a 4.25″ x 5.5″ piece of Hero Hues Ivory Card Stock. (Especially with a Fall-themed kit, I find it less jarring to ink-blend on a lightly colored card stock).

I am happy to say that lining up the layering stencils was quite easy – even without using the Window Die (there are registration squares in the four corners of the stencils). I used all four colors of the Ink cubes and did some selective stenciling with small blending brushes to get a little bit of color variety on the leaves and mushrooms. (Spicy Mustard for stems, Cherry and Caramel for leaves on stencil ‘a’; Spicy Mustard for ‘shroom details, Caramel for leaves on stencil ‘b’; Cherry for the ‘shroom tops and Espresso for the leaf details with stencil ‘c’) Looks like I have to be careful with that Espresso Ink – it is rich and quite dark!

I stamped the sentiment using Espresso Ink and embossed it with some Clear Embossing Powder, and ink blended Caramel ink around the edges. I kind of went to town on the mushrooms with the Unicorn White Lacquer Pen… and here I have to be careful of bubbles at the tip of the lacquer pen… nothing worse that getting a beautiful round embellishment on your mushroom and then it pops and leaves just a little flat dot. And finally, some Autumnal sequins from my stash adds a little extra bling to this card. The finished panel is glued to an A2 White card base. Okay… I may have overdid it with the enamel dots a little, but I think the layering stencils work beautifully.

So let’s pair up those Layering Stencils with the Fall Window Die…! I die-cut the Window Die from another 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of Hero Hues Ivory card stock.

It is SO EASY to line up the stencils with the Window Die! This time, I thought I would just use a single color for each stencil – I used Spicy Mustard ink for Stencil ‘a’, Caramel ink for Stencil ‘b’, and Cherry ink for Stencil ‘c’. I did do a little bit of shading (darker on the bottom, lighter on the top) with these inks, and am kind of amazed at how well the stencils work with just these three colors! I believe this color combo is the one illustrated here and on HeroArts.com.

I remember hearing someone say that the Hero Arts Clear Card Panels will take heat embossing with no problem. I stamped the sentiment on one of the clear panels using Root Beer Reactive ink, and embossed that with Clear Embossing powder. (move quickly when embossing on acetate!) and then glued that to the back of the Stenciled Fall Window die. I glued a panel of plain Ivory card stock from my stash to the front of an A2 Card base, and glued a few sequins to that panel. (so when the shaker bits are at the bottom, you still see a few sequins in the window. I added a double layer of foam tape around the back of the acetate/window die and selected more Autumnal sequins to use as the shaker bits, and attached the window to the card base.

You may notice I restrained myself with the lacquer dots this time! and they seem much cleaner… I often will make a whole bunch of enamel or lacquer dots on a non-stick craft sheet in a variety of sizes, let them dry, and then glue the individual dots in place.

I know I often feel like shaker cards aren’t that big a deal… but card recipients are always fascinated by them – a fairly simple little bit of interactive movement that people love to receive! And you don’t have to go fancy-fancy with your ink blending to get terrific coloring on this window die. I really appreciate the restraint on display here!! Looks Great!

So that’s the stencils alone… the stencils with the window die… How about the Window Die and NO stencils?

Remember you can dry emboss a die without cutting it out for a classy textured “letter-press” effect for your cards. I embossed the Window Die on a panel of Canson Mix Media card stock (138#) and that gave us this lovely detailed wreath of leaves and mushrooms on a lightly textured card stock that not only looks amazing, but FEELS terrific too… Love that texture! I stamped the sentiment in the center with Intense Black ink and colored the bits with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I glued the panel to the front of an A2 card base and added a Gold Leaf sequin from my stash to add a touch of sparkle. Clean and Classy! (you know I like my white space!)

I wanted to hand-color one of these Fall Window Dies… stencils are handy and quick but will never achieve as much detail as something that’s been colored by hand.

That’s what I’m talking about! I decided to color this die with my Prismacolor colored pencils, so I cut the Window Die from a piece of Stonehenge White card stock (my favorite for colored pencil work) and started coloring – lots of tiny images here so I did keep the points of my pencils very sharp. So much detail and color variations are possible with colored pencils…I also used some Gamsol mineral spirits and paper stomps to blend the coloring… The final result here is worth every minute it took to color!

I played around with what to put in the window… at one point I was going to have a black background with a White sentiment, but, while that certainly made the coloring pop, it also seemed just a little too dark. I came up with this black shadowing by die-cutting the window die on a panel of HA Pitch Black card stock, then I cut away about a quarter of an inch from the center of the die-cut (top and bottom), slid the two sides together and that gave me a nice “reflecting” shadow on either side of the die cuts. Just what the Doctor ordered!

I stamped the sentiment on the front of an A2 card base with Intense Black ink, embossed it with Clear embossing powder, and colored the bits with my Zig markers (the brush tips on Zig markers are fine enough to handle tiny images like these). I glued the colored window and shadow to the card front, and didn’t think it needed any lacquer dots or additional bling of any kind… don’t want to distract from that coloring! Like I said… totally worth the extra time.

I feel like I have given the stencils and window die their fair due, and was looking for something different for this card.

A leaf-shaped card fits the bill! I turned to my Silhouette Portrait to cut-out and create this card. I took a simple leaf shape and enlarged it to card base size, and cut 3 copies of that from Kraft card stock – two copies were glued together for the card front, and the third copy was scored across the top, folded, and the flap glued to the card front.

I knew I was going to add a writing surface on the inside, so I didn’t double-up on the back piece. I stamped the sentiment using Intense Black ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I added a suggestion of veins (and outlined the leaf) with an alcohol marker and colored the stamped bits with (very sharp) colored pencils. Instead of adding sequins or jewels for bling, I grabbed some Gold Hero Wax and applied it lightly to the card front with a finger. That proved to be just the finishing touch this card needed! And this card stands up on its own as well! I do love my Silhouette Portrait!

If you’d like my pattern for this Leaf Card just send me a request at cardcutups@gmail.com. Specify if you’d like the pattern as a Silhouette file or as a simple PDF, and I will pass that along to you as soon as I can!

Now we get to crack into the Premium Kit supplies and those incredibly cute critter stamps!

This Critter (I decided he was a Grey Wolf) with his arms spread wide seemed to be begging for a hug! We got that Contour Ink pad in the Premium Kit which is specially formulated for “no-line watercoloring” on your stamps. I figured I’d give that a whirl and stamped this critter on some Bristol Smooth card stock using the Contour ink. I watercolored him using my Zig watercolor markers and a small paintbrush. I’m not a big practitioner of this method, but I think he came out quite nicely… I do like the furry texture I was able to achieve, but I think these fairly small image stamps make no-line watercoloring a bit of a challenge, and it’s easy to lose some details if you’re not paying close attention! After all the watercolor was dry, I die-cut him out with the matching Fancy die.

I cut a panel of Kraft card stock to 3″ x 4.25″, added some finger swipes of the Gold Hero Wax around the edges, and glued a thin Pitch Black mat behind. I die-cut some of the Bronze Glitter Paper with a HA Nesting Infinity Circle die, and cut a Pitch Black mat (using the next larger die) to glue to the back. I stamped the sentiment using Intense Black ink, glued the background (and mat) to a White A2 card base, glued the circle dies on top of the background, and added our critter with foam tape. The Bronze Glitter paper and Gold Hero Wax give us plenty of shine on this card so no embellishments needed! I think these critters are cute enough to stand on their own… no fancy “scene” required!

I often hesitate to use my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers to color small images just because I don’t think the tips on those markers are fine enough to get into all those tiny spaces… but if I’m really careful…!

It’s the sentiments in this stamp set that dictated which critters I would use. The guitar playing Fox goes with this sentiment perfectly! I stamped him on some Bristol Smooth card stock with Intense Black ink and colored him with my Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. Reminds me of Robin Hood with that green tunic!

Here’s a shot of the alcohol marker colors I used on this musical Fox. I die-cut him with the matching Fancy die and set about creating a background. I remembered I had this OLD Darice Music die in my stash and thought that might provide an interesting background. I die-cut that from some Kraft card stock and realized that the die is completely backwards… now I could just flip the die (showing the unattractive ‘back cut”) or just excise the treble clef and leave it at that.

I die-cut a piece of Ivory card stock with a (3.75″x5″) Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Die, and splattered some Espresso ink on that before adding a thin Champagne Metallic mat to the back. I glued those both to an A2 card base and glued my music staff in the center. I die-cut a bunch of small hearts (HA Nesting Infinity Heart Dies) from the Champagne Metallic card stock and glued those on top of the “notes” on the staff. I added the Fox with foam tape and scattered a few more hearts around for good measure. Hearts, Music notes, Guitar… all work perfectly well with this sentiment! Love this (even though the notes are technically backward – stems going up should be on the right side of the note) But I imagine (hope) most folks won’t notice…!

Other than hugging and playing music, it seems that dancing is a favorite activity for these critters…!

Now we know that this critter is a bear! I was eager to see if I could make this a Black Bear!

Here’s a shot of the colors I used for this Black Bear. Quite dapper in his red and green jacket! Again, I used the matching Fancy Die to cut him out. The sentiment didn’t seem to mean much without a qualifier, so I dug out this Lawn Fawn Scripty Congrats Die from my stash and die-cut it from a piece of card stock that I had colored with the matching black alcohol markers. I die-cut three more from Pitch Black card stock, glued all the layers together and, using Embossing and Watermark ink, embossed the whole sentiment with Clear embossing powder.

I do find Embossing powder is a much easier way to add shine to a die-cut sentiment than with Glossy Accents! I die-cut another piece of Canson Mix Media card stock with a 3.25″x4.5″ LFSRdie, and added a Glossy Black card stock mat behind that and glued them both to an A2 card base. I stamped the sentiment with Intense Black ink, glued the die cut sentiment in place, and added the bear with foam tape. Another Glossy Black Heart die glued next to the sentiment and some “motion” lines around his knee, elbow and hand finishes out our dancing bear (thank you, Captain Kangaroo!).

Two more critters to go… I decided that a couple should be dancing together.. and there is another dancing sentiment!

Here’s another use for the Contour Ink pad… just use it as a light Grey ink! I stamped all the leaf stamps on a panel of White card stock to give us a nice Autumnal background. I stamped the sentiment on the background with Intense Black ink and embossed it with Clear embossing Powder, added a thin black mat and glued those to an A2 card base.

I stamped the badger on some Bristol Smooth card stock, masked off his hand and stamped the squirrel(? seems like a squirrel tail!) so it looks like they are holding hands. Here’s a pic of the markers I used to color this pair, and when I was done, I used partial die-cutting to cut them both out together. Looks like this pair was all one stamp!

I lightly blended a little Cherry and Spicy Mustard on a scrap of card stock and die cut the three leaves using the Fancy dies. I attached our dancing couple using a Mini Action Wobbler so they actually move…! The wobbler is behind the badger so the squirrel bounces up and down quite a bit! I glued the die cut leaves around the dancers and here we have a fun interactive card. These critter stamps are truly adorable!

There are a few Leaf Fancy Dies left, so I thought I’d pair them up with the one nice pun in this set!

I die cut the Leaf Fancy Dies from Kraft, Red, Yellow, Orange and the Bronze Glitter card stocks. I die-cut another 3.25″x4.5″ panel of Ivory card stock with a LFSRdie and splattered that all over with all four of our ink colors. I glued that to a Kraft mat and then to a White A2 card base. I decided where I wanted the sentiment and stamped that with the Espresso ink. Then it was a simple matter of gluing the leaves and place and enjoying the swirl of leaves as we head into a blustery Fall. I did think about doing some ink blending on the leaves but thought the detail of the dies provided plenty of interest. A nice graphic card to wrap up this colorful Fall kit.

And that wraps up my ten cards using the My Monthly Hero September 2023 Classic and Premium Kits. Though I didn’t use every single stamp and die, I did use a little bit of everything! The Fall Window Die is pretty spectacular, and is made all the simpler with the layering stencils, and my affection for these critters grew more each time I colored one!

Very colorful collection of cards… It seems I was certainly in the mood to do some coloring this month and I like the Autumn feel here without everything having to be just about the season!

These kits are still available at Hero Arts! If you see something you like here or if I’ve managed to spark some ideas of your own then you should grab a kit for yourself. Remember, HA has started offering the Premium Elements if you’re especially drawn to the critters and don’t particularly care for the Fall Window Die. Lots of options! If you do go shopping at Hero Arts please use my links provided below. It helps support this page and is always truly appreciated!

My Monthly Hero September 2023 Classic Kit: http://shrsl.com/48myj

My Monthly Hero September 2023 Premium Kit: http://shrsl.com/48mym

My Monthly Hero September 2023 Premium Elements: http://shrsl.com/48myp

Thank you so much for sharing some time with me here today! Your attention never goes unnoticed! Please remember to to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, share me with all your crafty friends – oh hell, ALL of your friends! I am getting ready to go on (a MUCH needed) vacation, so my October 10 Cards 1 Kit posting may be a little delayed, but I will get that to you as soon as possible! Don’t run with scissors…! And I send you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Hello Folks! Scott here with my 10 Cards 1 Kit post using the My Monthly Hero August 2023 Classic and Premium Kits. This month’s kit was inspired by a trip to Yosemite National Park and celebrates all the natural beauty of The Golden State – California!

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• Clear Stamp Set, 4″ x 6″
• 4 Park Scene Fancy Dies
• 1 Sheet each of Papaya, Canary, Palm, Kiwi, Woodland and Mist Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• Brass Embossing Powder, 0.5 oz.
• Gold EarthSafe Glitter, 0.5 oz.

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES
• Everything in the Classic Kit AND…
• Poppy Clear Stamp Set, 3″ x 4″
• 7 Poppy Coordinating Frame Cuts
• 4 Sheets of Cactus Hero Transfers, 6″ x 8″
• Spring Green & Gold Two-Tone Spray, 2 oz. (Color may be substituted)

This is quite a huge variety of products in this kit… fancy dies, two stamp sets, new Rub-ons, and embellishments… (I do wonder how Gold Glitter (even if it is “EarthSafe”) and Brass Embossing powder come into play for a Nature themed kit). Once again, I will make my first five cards trying to stick to just the supplies in the Classic Kit… unless we want to make a card featuring JUST the sentiments then we’ve only got the Park Scene Fancy Dies.

This card came together as it was happening. Thinking I might do some water coloring, I grabbed some HA Watercolor paper, and took the Granite Cliff die to the upper third of a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of that watercolor paper. I had the notion that these cliffs would be in the upper half of a card front, but was given a little pause when I realized that the details in the cliff die only go down about an inch and a quarter.

That’s what gave me the idea to do some inlay die-cutting with all four dies on one panel. I die-cut the Meadow die just below the Cliff details, and die-cut the Mountain die from the top piece leftover from the Granite Cliff die cut. Then I snuck as much of the Tree die into the Meadow as I could, and die-cut the trees from the Meadow piece. I ink blended HA Soft Granite on the Cliff die cut, HA Grape Slush Reactive ink on the Mountain piece, HA Green Apple Reactive ink on the Meadow piece (lightly), and HA Green Apple Reactive ink on the Trees (much heavier). I stamped the sentiment using HA Unicorn Pigment ink and embossed that with some White embossing powder.

I ink blended some HA Splash Reactive ink on the top of a 4″ x 5.25″ panel of the same watercolor card stock, and glued the four blended die-cuts down on the top of that – trimming all the edges to match as I went along. I added a little color to the “flowers” on the top of the Meadow die cut using some colored Gel pens, and noticed that there’s a few vertical detail cuts just right of center on the Cliff piece – is that a bit of a waterfall (Yosemite Falls?) in those die-cut details? I highlighted the Falls with a White Gel pen and was quite surprised at how much depth that simple waterfall created on this assemblage… it does feel like we’re coming over a hill with the cliffs of Yosemite in the distance!

Of course the mountains aren’t quite as huge as this in real life, but I figured the sentiment justified the big mountains. Now we have an inlaid die-cut scene using all the Park Scene Fancy dies. Almost a one-layer card!

Let’s get back to my original intention to watercolor these dies… and can we use them in a landscape orientation?

I did a little Yosemite research and found this picture that is so obviously the inspiration for these dies… I had to see if I could possibly bring a little more reality to our park scene – enough that someone would recognize it as Yosemite!

That’s looking more and more like Yosemite! Again, I die-cut everything from HA Watercolor card stock, and used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to watercolor everything. The Cliff die is simply cut apart in the center and spread out. The Meadow die is extended to 5.25″ wide with partial die-cutting (and I lopped off the random “flowers” on the top edge). The mountains are cut normally and we’re just using the right half of the Tree die.

Another light ink blending of Splash Reactive ink on a 4″ x 5.25″ panel of plain card stock then glued to a White A2 card base for the sky. The Mountains are then attached using thin foam tape, the Meadow is glued directly to the Cliffs and then those and the trees are mounted with foam tape as well. The sentiment is stamped on a scrap of White card stock using Splash Reactive ink and then embossed with Clear embossing powder, die-cut with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die (partial die-cutting to get the correct size), and mounted with foam tape. The landscape orientation really expands the view here, (and also gives you a little more room for those big sentiments)! I think anyone familiar with Yosemite would recognize this scene…! Definitely fussy but completely worth it!

I did paint the other half of the Tree die for that card, but ended up cutting it away to make room for the sentiment.

Those leftover trees make a great focal point on this card! I die-cut a piece of the Palm card stock in the kit to 4.5″ x 3.25″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and ink blended Root Beer Reactive ink on the bottom edge and Blue Raspberry Reactive ink on the top. I stamped the sentiment using HA Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed that with the Brass Embossing powder. For the mat, I cut a scrap of White card stock to 4.75″ x 3.5″, inked the edges with Embossing and Watermark ink, and embossed the Brass Embossing powder all the way around. Perfect match!

I glued both to a White A2 card base, trimmed the trees to fit, and attached them with foam tape. I was going to stamp the “Get Well Soon” sentiment on the inside, but decided this sentiment didn’t have to be of such limited scope! I really like these watercolor tress and I wasn’t going to let these leftovers go to waste!

I don’t think I have anything quite like that Tree die in my stash – I have a variety of mountains and cliff dies, but no detailed tree clusters or forests!

I was fiddling around with that Tree die when I realized you could divide the die cut apart at the lowest point, turning the trees into two clusters, then move the left piece to the right side, and with a tiny trim, create a whole different look – more of a single cluster of trees… maybe effective enough to create a second layer of apparently different trees in your forest! Or maybe just to use on a big 5″ x 7″ or Slim-line card!

Of course when I was playing with the Tree die I realized how easily you could make it longer with partial die-cutting!

You can see the tiniest little crease to the right of “Beautiful” where I did the partial die-cutting – again using the HA watercolor card stock. I really like having the right end of this tree die cut off in the middle of that trunk. The Mountains are also extended with partial die-cutting (from plain White card stock). The original die has the big mountain to the left of the smaller mountain. I ink blended HA Soft Sky ink on a White A2 card base, ink blended HA Thistle Reactive ink on the mountains and glued them to the card base.

I stamped the sentiment using Thistle Reactive ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I glued the trees directly on top – there’s plenty of dimension already because they’re cut from the HA watercolor card stock. This is a very different, soft wintery scene up in the mountains… somewhere… I really like these landscape cards! Nice to know how adaptable these Park Scene Fancy dies are! I’m always trying to stretch our kit supplies to their fullest potential, and really try to create something new for you.

Enough with that tree die already! I thought the Meadow die was a little plain (kind of just a ‘grassy border’) so I started digging around in my embossing folder stash to see if I had any “nature” themes that might work with the Meadow die… I came across this old Darice wildflower embossing folder (it’s small – 5.5″ x 1.25″) and that gave me this idea.

I dug out some old core’dinations Chalk Core card stock from my stash – these are black card stock sheets with colored cores (I used yellow) – perfect for embossing and sanding…! The pack I have is only 4″ x 6″, so that will dictate the size of my card front! I die-cut the Cliff die from the top third of the Chalk Core card stock -you can actually see the yellow core in the cuts…! I embossed the folder on the bottom edge and lightly sanded it to bring out the core color. I stamped the sentiment using HA Unicorn White Pigment ink and embossed that with White Embossing powder.

I cut a piece of White card stock to 4″ x 5.5″ and ink blended the sky with HA Red Reactive ink, HA Purple Galaxy and HA Licorice Reactive ink. I spattered some stars in the Sky using a watered-down White India ink and when that was dry, glued it to a White A2 card base. I glued the black panel on top and Taa-Daa! I’m very pleased with this night time scene – It was good to remember that I have that Chalk core card stock and how interesting die-cuts appear on that card stock – you could easily lose the details of the die if you just use plain black card stock.

That feels like a really good exploration of those Park Scene Fancy Dies. Let’s break into the Premium Kit supplies now!

That Spring Green & Gold Two-Tone Spray is quite lovely! That’s a great green, and the soft shimmers of gold really bring that color to life! I did spray a couple of watercolor card stock panels with the spray… I wasn’t trying to get perfect coverage, but I wasn’t shooting for a splotchy look either – just a nice all over tonal gradation!

I stamped the Poppy on more watercolor card stock using Intense Black ink, colored it with my TomBow watercolor markers and die-cut it with the matching die. I do believe California Poppies are classically yellow. I cut one panel of the Green/Gold card stock to 3.75″ x 5″ and embossed it with the Spellbinders Leafy 3D Embossing folder. The gold really highlights the dimension on those leaves – perfect touch! I glued that panel to an A2 White card base.

I die-cut another panel of the Green/Gold with a LFSRdie using partial die-cutting to give me a 2.25″ x 3″ panel – that matches the height of this Poppy! I stamped the sentiment with Unicorn White ink, embossed it with White Embossing powder, and added a white mat to the backside. I attached that to the card front with foam tape and used the same for the Poppy. Some gold pearls adds a little more bling, and I did add some gold to the poppy centers with a Gold Gel pen. I don’t think I’ve ever made a simple “Good Luck” card before… but Green is a lucky color!

It appears that the Hero Arts community is going a little crazy for Multi-Media cards these days… there’s even a new FaceBook Group: Mixed Media with Hero Arts for all the fans. I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon with this next card.

One of my favorite ways to tackle a mixed-media project is to find a good background, and one of my favorite all-purpose multi-media backgrounds is Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap – this pattern is “Postale”. I ran a 4.25″ x 5.5″ panel of plain Beige card stock through a Xyron Sticker Maker to cover one side with adhesive. Then it’s easy to lay the adhesive side on the back of the Tissue Wrap – you can see through to right to where you want to glue it – and attach the tissue and card stock together with no wrinkles.

I grabbed the Doodle Stencil from the MMH April ’23 Kit and some Novo Citrus Green Embellishment Mousse (perfect match to the Spring Green Spray) to add the dashes on the right and the lines on the top left to the background. I lightly spritzed the spray (to get more of a splatter) on the background and added some brown watercolor washes and splashes as well. I die-cut the background with a LFSRdie to 3.75″ x 5″, added a thin mat of the Woodland card stock and glued those down to a White card base.

I stamped, colored and cut the Poppies just like the Poppy on the last card, and stamped the sentiment on a scrap of White card stock with Intense Black ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. Again, using partial die-cutting, I cut the sentiment out with a LFSRdie to 3″ x 1″. I cut a scrap of white card stock to 3.25″ x 1.25″ and glued the Gold glitter to the edges with Scor-tape. I glued the sentiment, the glitter mat and another thin Woodland mask together and added those to the card front with foam tape. I added the die-cut Poppies with foam tape as well.

Two square brads go on the top right, a wooden butterfly embossed with the Brass Embossing powder down left and a good spattering of Gold pearls adds more texture and shine (and multi-media!) to this card. I added a bit of Gold cord for the body of the butterfly, and glued a small spray of Gold thread to the bottom of the lower Poppies – they felt a little unmoored just floating there…! Lots of Gold and tons of shine on this card. This my salute to the new Mixed Media with Hero Arts Face Book page!

Now we can play with the Cactus rub-ons! These are truly adorable – and we get a wide variety as well!

I guess I was yearning for a little more simplicity after that Multi-Media card! I die-cut the Papaya, Canary and Woodland card stock with a Spellbinder “Add a Stripe of Color” die, and arranged those on the left of a panel of White card stock cut to 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″. I stamped the sentiment with Root Beer Reactive ink and embossed it with Clear Embossing powder. I added the barrel cactus rub-on over the sentiment and decide that it needed an anchor. So I cut away the “stones” on the bottom right cactus (on the rub-on sheet) using my craft knife, and added them to the bottom of the barrel cactus! That’s one of the fun things with rub-ons… you can use any parts you like most anywhere!

There are so many different cacti on these rub-on sheets… and so many sheets! You could make a TON of cactus cards with all these rub-ons, and heaven knows there are bunches of cactus puns out there!

This one tickles my fancy! I lined up these five cacti rub-ons across the center of a 4″ x 5.25″ panel of White card stock and printed the sentiment on that using my Silhouette Software and the Ball Paaji 2 Extra Bold font. I glued that panel to a Palm card base and added a White panel on the inside for a place to write your message. This one is dedicated to YOU! If you are reading this post then you are AWESOME PEOPLE as far as I’m concerned!

I think I’ve given this kit a pretty good run-through by now… but I did have one more idea for using that Tree die…!

When I was fiddling with the Tree die-cuts I started cutting them apart and arranging them in a circle to see if I could create the illusion of looking up through the trees. Almost makes me dizzy looking at this! I die-cut two of the Tree dies from thin Black card stock and two from some Pearlescent Green card stock from my stash. I cut all of those trees apart and added the Green behind the Black as a bit of a “shadow”. Note that the trees at 6:00 and 8:00 are from the negative part of the die cut!

I covered a panel of White card stock with some Altenew Watercolor Nebula Wide Washi Tape and die-cut that with a Nesting Infinity Oval die. I arranged the trees around the oval, glued them down, and trimmed the edges to match. I cut two oval frames from Pitch Black card stock using two of the Oval dies and glued them together.

I stamped the sentiment on a Pitch Black card base with Unicorn White pigment ink and embossed that with White Embossing powder. I glued the oval to the card base and glued the frame around the oval. I like the slight difference between the Black card stocks on this card, and I think the oval frame provides a great finishing touch! Another night time card enhanced with that beautifully colorful washi tape!

And there you have it…! 10 cards using the My Monthly Hero August 2023 Classic and Premium Kits. I did find this month’s kit a bit of a challenge…! I tend to get my kits a little earlier than regular subscribers, but well after the Design Team has gotten their kits. Since you get to see all the sneak peeks and design inspiration from the Design Team when the kits are released, I try my hardest to go beyond those initial inspirations to give you some other ideas and introduce possible new ways of thinking about and creating with your kits. This kit made my brain hurt (a little)!

Regardless of my personal struggles, we actually have a wide variety of cards this month. I really enjoyed trying to make those Park Scene Fancy Dies look as much like Yosemite as I could… and I enjoyed expanding those “portrait’ dies to fit on a “landscape” card. Though Multi-Media may not be my go-to technique, I had fun making my multi-media card and of course, those cacti rub-ons are totally charming!

While I did use a little bit of everything in this kit, I didn’t quite use all the stamps and dies this month (there are 13+ sentiments on the Classic stamp set!) I thought I was doing good just to find a useable spot for the Gold (earth-safe!) glitter!

Both the Classic and Premium Kits are still available at Hero Arts. If I managed to catch your eye or your imagination (or you’re just a California/Yosemite Junkie) and you’d like to grab a kit for yourself, please use my links below. It is always supremely appreciated and it truly helps to support this page. THANK YOU!!

My Monthly Hero Classic Kit August 2023: http://shrsl.com/474tz

My Monthly Hero Premium Kit August 2023: https://shrsl.com/46q2s

My Monthly Hero Premium Supplies August 2023: http://shrsl.com/474v2 Note that the full August release has an option to purchase JUST the Premium Elements from this month’s kit (the poppy stamps and dies, the Two-Tone Spray and the Cacti rub-ons!) which is actually cheaper than the Classic Kit – so if you just like the Premium supplies you don’t HAVE to purchase the Classic supplies as well. I LOVE THAT and haven’t noticed that option before!).

Hero Arts August Release: http://shrsl.com/474uj

Thank you so very much for sharing your time with me here. I do think you are all AWESOME PEOPLE! Please take a moment to let me know what cards are your favorites and remember to Like me, List me, Pin me Post me, Share me with all your crafty friends (and enemies!) Don’t run with scissors… and I send you and yours Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Hello folks! Scott here with my 10 cards (15!) inspired by the My Monthly Hero July 2023 Classic and Premium kits! This month, Hero Arts is inviting us out for a picnic by the river. Featuring a wildflower silhouette stamp set and an amazing collection of dies, this kit will certainly help keep your summer grooving along!

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• Dandelion Fancy Dies, 8 Pieces
• Parklands Window Fancy Die
• Linen Cling Stamp, 3″ x 4″
• Blue to Green Reactive Ombré Ink Pad

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES
• Everything in the Classic Kit AND…
• 11 Picnic Fancy Dies
• 2 Picnic Scenic Detail Fancy Dies
• Wildflower Ephemera Pack, 45 Pieces
• 2 Sheets of White Woodgrain Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″
• 1 Sheet each of Pesto and Passion Flower Cardstock, 5.5″ x 8.5″

I do believe this is the first MMH Kit (Premium) to include a batch of ephemera mostly modeled after the silhouette stamps. We will get to those later… as usual, I’ll make my first five cards using just the items in the Classic Kit. Let’s start with that cluster of silhouetted wildflowers and that Ombre Ink Pad.

Naturally, since this is a 4.25″ wide stamp (seemingly designed for an A2 card in a portrait orientation) I want to expand this stamp to fit on an A2 card in a landscape orientation! On a panel of white card stock, I ink blended some Lemon Drop Reactive ink over a little more than half of the front. I stamped the wildflowers using the Ombre Reactive ink (I did the blue ink towards the top of the flowers thinking it would probably blend with the yellow background to make green – it did – close enough!) I shifted the stamp a little to the left for the first stamp (so you don’t see the left side of the stamp) and then stamped the right side (now we see the left edge!) to complete the panel.

I added the dandelion floaters (I actually thought those were dragonflies at first!) to add a little movement to this scene, and stamped the sentiment using only the greens on the Ombre Stamp pad. I trimmed the stamped panel to 4″ x 5.25″ and added a thin Pesto mat behind that. (No… I’m not cheating… I do have some Hero Hues Pesto card stock in my stash…) I glued those to a white A2 card base and called it done! I really like this arrangement of wildflowers – well composed and so much quicker than using the individual stamps!

The Dandelion Fancy dies caught my eye, and I thought it would be fun to pair up the dies with the dandelion stamps.

I die cut the three Dandelions and three floaters from some plain white card stock, and used a light grey alcohol marker for the stems and centers. I do like these dies! On a panel of light grey card stock, I ink blended some ‘windy’ swooshes with a very small blending brush, using the Blue from the Ombre Ink pad, and some Unicorn White Pigment ink. I stamped the Dandelion stamp (and the floaters) with HA Contour ink, and did a little stamp surgery on the floater stamp so I could get a single floater to stamp all by itself. I stamped the sentiment using the Contour ink (many stampings) and then used Embossing and Watermark ink to stamp it one last time so I could emboss it with clear embossing powder

I trimmed the stamped panel to 3.25″ x 4.5″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die, and added a mat of Gina K. Blue Raspberry card stock, and glued those down to a White card base.

You know that ethereal quality that dandelions have when they’re ready to shed their seed…? I had a piece of vellum sitting on my desk and I wondered if that might possibly work for some of the floaters. I die cut the three floater dies from vellum and added them to the card front. They match the grey stamped floaters quite nicely…

I wonder what it might look like to die cut the complete dandelions from vellum – maybe add a card stock stem… or thicker vellum..? Very interesting!

We also get that 3′ x 4″ linen cling stamp in the Classic Kit… great for multi-media cards or just a simple background!

Well, HELLO…! I stamped the Linen Cling stamp on some White card stock using Lemon Drop and Creamsicle Reactive inks, and stamped the flower and snail and sentiment using HA Cocoa ink. I dug around in my stash and found the perfect die to cut that whole stamp out – the largest of the Spellbinders Nestabilities Deckled Rectangles Large dies.

I ink blended Walnut Stain Distress Oxide ink around the edges, and mounted that to a White card base with foam tape. This card needed a little sparkle, so I found these copper sequins in my stash and added a few to the card front. This is a very simple, straightforward card that still looks lovely and certainly packs a punch!

I will probably pay a little more attention to that cling stamp now that I know I have the perfect die for it!

The Parklands Window Fancy die. Hmm. This die didn’t seem to match the scale of our stamps or the dandelion dies…

Talk about very simple, straightforward yet impressive card…! The Parklands Window is die-cut from a 4.25″ x 5.5″ piece of Hero Hues Pitch Black card stock. The sentiment is stamped with Unicorn White Pigment ink and embossed with White embossing powder. The background is a piece of Altenew Watercolor Nebula Wide Washi Tape burnished to the front of a White A2 card base. I added thin pieces of black foam tape behind the die cut and mounted it on top of the nebula. Though I’m not quite sure what you might use this sentiment for… I do think this is a beautiful card!

Okay… now I feel like I have short-changed that Parklands Window Fancy die. Let’s try this one again with some color!

This might be a little bit more in line with what the designers at Hero Arts were thinking about for that Fancy die! This time I die-cut the Parklands from a 4.25″ x 5.5″ White alcohol-friendly card stock and colored everything with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers.

These are the markers I used to color the Parkland. Not a lot of colors, but I did go back over the whole thing many times… so there’s lots of layers! I think of this as a little bit more abstract than realistic… which also led me to just leave the edges ambiguous rather than try to color the whole card front or create some rigid framework.

I ink blended the sunbeams on a White A2 card base using Lemon Drop ink and some some simple masking.

I knew I didn’t want to draw in more Parkland in the background, and I thought a ‘clearing’ with the sun beaming through the trees would be effective. I stamped the sentiment with Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I added foam tape to the die cut and mounted it to the card base.

This is a fun encouragement card and a perfect thank you card… especially for something a little more personal!

Well, that’s five cards, but I haven’t used hardly any of the Wildflower stamps… sometimes I think silhouette stamps can be a little boring… and I was trying to bring some life (and color) to these flowers…

VOILA! I used my TomBow watercolor markers to color the stamps and then stamp ’em! I secured a panel of Canson Mixed Media card stock to a Stick & Stamp mat and put that in my MISTI to make multiple stampings easy. It’s been a while since I “watercolored” with stamps… Colorado Craft Co. has a whole line of stamps specifically made for “watercoloring” with watercolor markers..!

The best thing about coloring your stamps is you can give a flat silhouette multiple colors quite easily. You can also do selective “masking” by simply not coloring a portion of the stamp (the green plant on the far right actually has a leaf that would be right on top of the blue cornflower, so I simply just didn’t color it in… no masking needed)! Also note that the grass along the bottom doesn’t have a flat bottom edge..! You can also layer colors and create some depth and dimension which works particularly well with something organic… like wildflowers! Loving this!

There is a section in my corresponding YouTube video where I show the stamping of a few of these flowers… if you want to see. I stamped the sentiment with Walnut Stain Distress oxide ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I die-cut the panel to 5″ x 3.75″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched rectangle die, added a dark brown mat behind that and glued them both down to a White card base. Some tiny bronze gems adds a little more sparkle around the sentiment – Have a beautiful day, INDEED! I must remember to use this ‘stamp-coloring’ technique more often!

That covers almost all of the Classic Kit… now we can move on to the Premium Kit and those Picnic Fancy Dies!

Very cute Picnic basket! I die-cut the basket, champagne, grapes, cheese, bread and salami from some alcohol-friendly card stock and colored them all with my Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers. I did use a Gold Gel pen for the bottle accents and a White Gel pen for the grape highlights. I die-cut the champagne glasses from Hero Arts Acetate – we got some of that in our MMH November ’22 Kit – and two of the triangle dies from some old Lawn Fawn Gotta Have Gingham pattern paper.

I trimmed a piece of the yellow Lawn Fawn Gingham pattern paper to 3.5″ x 5.5″ and stamped the sentiment with Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink and embossed that with Clear embossing powder. I glued that to the center of an A2 White card base, and added two 1/8″ strips of Hero Hues Canary card stock to the edges. I attached all the goodies and the basket to the card front using glue and thin pieces of foam tape.

For a final touch I added some yellow gems to highlight the sentiment and add a little sparkle. These are all fun dies and I really think cutting the champagne glasses from acetate was rather inspired!

And then we have the Picnic Scenic Detail Fancy dies… another die set that doesn’t seem to match the scale of anything else in this kit… neither the stamps nor the ephemera nor the picnic dies… kind of a stand alone pair of dies…!

I went back and forth a few times on this card… I die-cut the picnic die just above the middle of an A2 panel of alcohol-friendly card stock and colored the chair and basket with alcohol markers and used a Red Pigma Micron pen to add the pattern to the picnic blanket. And a Blue Pigma Micron pen for the basket. Then I cut those pieces away from the panel. I die-cut another picnic die from more White card stock and, after cutting out the dishes, ink blended the panel with Green Apple Distress Oxide ink. Then I glued the colored pieces to the top of the ink-blended piece – including the dishes!

I die-cut the water (river!?) from a piece of blue watercolor pattern paper, added some clear embossing with an Emboss It Pen, and fiddled around with its placement. It seemed a little odd to me to put it behind the picnic die-cut, but I thought if I added the far bank of the ‘river’ it would make more sense! I colored up the far bank with alcohol markers and cut the top edge using the grass die from the MMH May ’23 kit. I also die-cut the two grass dies from the Dandelion die set colored them with alcohol markers and glued those behind the near bank to grass it up a bit.

One more panel of 3.75″ x 5″ card stock ink blended with some Splash Reactive ink will be our background. I trimmed the picnic, river and far bank pieces to 3.75″ wide and attached them to the card front with glue and some thin pieces of foam tape. I stamped this sentiment (from the MMH July 2019 kit!) with Green apple Reactive ink and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I think the river die works well in this arrangement… the far shore piece certainly helps it to read a little better as a river, and I like this sentiment as well… since there’s only ONE chair… I do wish YOU were here!

And then we have the 45 pieces of ephemera… I have to admit right here from the start that I am not a big fan of ephemera… and the pieces in this kit, though colorful, are still just simple silhouettes with variably accurate die-cuts.

I thought one great way to use the ephemera would be to make a brilliantly colorful themed set of Thank You cards! Perfect for gift giving! I die-cut six panels of White card stock to 5″ x 3.75″ with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die and added a thin black mat behind all of them. I picked out six of the largest ephemera pieces and dug through my stash to find matching card stocks – These turned out to be: Gina K Plum Punch, Gina K. Sweet Mango, Gina K. Passionate Pink, Gina K. Sandy Beach, Hero Hues Plum, and Hero Hues Periwinkle. Not perfect matches, but pretty darn close! (It sure seemed to me that almost every piece of ephemera in our kit was a completely different color…!)

I turned all that card stock into A2 card bases, and matched them up with the ephemera pieces and decided where to stamp the sentiment. I stamped the Thank You sentiment (from the MMH May ’23 Kit) with Intense Black ink and embossed them all with clear embossing powder. The panel is glued to the card front and the ephemera is glued on top of that.

I do enjoy giving a set of cards as a hostess gift or a simple present for any occasion – Thank you cards are certainly useful for almost anyone!

I really like the Pie Die that came with the Picnic Fancy Dies but I couldn’t justify packing it into our picnic basket on its side… all the filling would come out…! So I saved it for a good pun on my last card…

From some plain Ivory card stock, I die-cut six pies, and colored them with my Alcohol markers – the centers on three and just the crust edges on the other three – I also added a little texture with my colored pencils. I separated the crusts from their (uncolored) centers and glued them on top of the crusts on the three fully colored pies – that adds some nice thickness to the edges of our pies! I die-cut 1.5″ circles of Metallic card stock in red, blue and champagne (good apple filling color!) and glued those to the back of the die cuts for the fillings! That’s a great Pie Die!

I created and printed this sentiment using my Silhouette Software and the Arial font directly on the front of an A2 card base. I cut another piece of Yellow gingham to 3″ square, added a Mustardy/Tan mat and glued those to the card front. I attached the Apple pie with glue and the other two pies with foam tape.

Using the metallic card stock for the fillings really pops and adds all the shine this card will ever need! And I think that’s a terrifically good pun on top of it all!

There we have My 10 Cards (well… 15…) inspired by the My Monthly Hero July 2023 Classic and Premium Kits. Quite an eclectic batch of cards. I did feel like this kit had like three or four mini-kits included… we have the wildflowers and dandelions, the Parkland Window, the picnic dies and then the Scenic Detail Fancy dies… all apparently themed together, but not necessarily the easiest of items to USE together. I mean, we don’t even get to the picnic till card 7!

If you like a wide variety of items in your card kits then this one is right up your alley! I really like all the parts of this kit, but did find it a challenge to use them all together. I really love the ‘Beautiful Day” card, and the Nebula Parkland Window, and the pies (of course… I LOVE pie!) and the Thank You card set… there’s a lot of variety here!

Both the Classic and Premium versions of this month’s kit are still available at Hero Arts! If I have caught your eye or given you any new ideas and you want to grab a kit for yourself, please use my links listed below when you go shopping at Hero Arts. It is always thoroughly appreciated and it actually does help support this page! Thank you!!

My Monthly Hero July ’23 CLASSIC Kit: http://shrsl.com/45zas

My Monthly Hero July ’23 PREMIUM Kit: http://shrsl.com/45zau

Hero Arts July ’23 Complete Release: http://shrsl.com/45zax

Thank you so very much for sharing your time with me here! It is always appreciated and valued and I know you have so many other things to do with your time that I am quite humbled that you choose to spend some of it with me.

Let me know your thoughts on this kit, and which cards are your favorites. Please remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Share me with all your crafty friends… beware of heatstroke… and I send you and yours Love and Light and, as always, Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

Hello Folks! Scott here with a new set of 10 cards inspired by the My Monthly Hero June 2023 Classic and Premium kits. We’re headed to the beach this month with a new HeroScape stamp set and Beach Window Fancy die that easily transports us right to the seashore!

CLASSIC KIT INCLUDES:
• Clear Stamp Set, 6″ x 8″
• 14 Coordinating Dies
• Beach Window Fancy Die
• 4 Reactive Ink Cubes (Splash, Taffy, Lemon Drop, Creamsicle)
• 6 Sheets of Watercolor Paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″

PREMIUM KIT INCLUDES: • Everything in the Classic Kit AND…
• 3 Color Layering Seashells Stencils, 6″ x 6″
• Sea Dot Enamel Stickers
• Bahama Bliss Sequins
• Iridescent Embossing Powder, .25 oz

I will once again work on making five cards just using the Classic Kit and then five more adding in the Premium supplies as well. Now, the ink cubes included in this kit are water-reactive, and we have watercolor paper too… It seems like we’re being encouraged to use these inks on the watercolor paper…!

On a 4.25′ x 5.5′ piece of the watercolor paper, I stamped the first (largest) water stamp using Splash Reactive ink. Then I stamped the second ‘ripple’ stamp using Blue Hawaii Reactive ink. I had to stamp both of those multiple times to get a decent impression, though I still had some deep textures that weren’t capturing the ink. I did a light ink blending for the sky with the Splash ink, and stamped the clouds using Blue Hawaii. I stamped the sun and the small ‘ripple’ stamp using Lemon Drop and Creamsicle Reactive inks, and added the extra smaller clouds using Splash ink. Finally, I ink-blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink on the bottom for the sandy beach.

Once everything was stamped, I still had some white texture spots from the watercolor paper that just wouldn’t ink up. Time to break out some water and a paintbrush…! That’s just what this needed… I was able to blend away all the texture spots that were resisting the inks, added a little more color where the sea meets the sand, got some nice striations in the sky, and de-emphasized the stark outlines on the big cloud stamp. This feels little more painterly to me! I also used some Iridescent Watercolor ink (from the Oct. ’16 MMH kit!) on the sun and its reflection to add a touch of glitter, and I drew a thin line between the sea and sky with a white gel pen to define the horizon. I added the birds stamped with Granite Core ink, and trimmed the panel down to 3.75″ x 5″, added a thin White mat, and a thicker Dark Blue Pearlescent mat and then glued all those to a White A2 card base.

I stamped the silhouette 3 or 4 times using Intense Black ink, let that dry overnight, and then (the next day) stamped it two more times with the same ink. That just about completely erases the ripple lines she’s stamped on top of. I wasn’t sure where I was going to put this sentiment so I stamped and embossed it on a piece of vellum using the Blue Hawaii ink and clear embossing powder. I die-cut the sentiment using the matching die. I finally decided to center the sentiment on the sun, so I ran the die-cut sentiment through a Xyron Sticker maker and stuck it down in place. Well, this card took an inordinate amount of time with my fiddling around and experimenting with this kit, but I really like the finished card. I’m not too sure about this sentiment – though you may just be sending peaceful thoughts to someone at the end of their day, this does feel like a bereavement card to me… the sun breaking through the clouds and a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

Enough with that watercolor paper… let’s see how these stamps behave on some plain card stock!

On a panel of plain Staples Ivory card stock, I stamped the big water stamp in sections – Splash, Blue Hawaii, Taffy, to get a little more color on the water. I used a blending brush to pull some of that color up into the sky, and ink blended some Lemon Drop ink on the upper part of the sky. I stamped and embossed the second ‘ripple’ stamp using Embossing and Watermark ink and Clear embossing powder… that adds some nice shine on the water! I stamped the setting sun (or is that rising?) with the Lemon Drop and Creamsicle inks and used the same inks on the small ‘ripple’ stamp and embossed that with more Clear embossing powder. (the Reactive inks stay wet long enough to emboss with them!)

I die-cut the Beach Window Fancy die from some of the watercolor paper (I’m sure I had some grand idea about painting it..!) and discovered that the next-to-the-largest HA Oval Infinity die matched the oval of the Fancy die with just enough clearance to make a perfect little frame. I die-cut the inked Ivory panel with the same oval die and glued both pieces together and down to a White card base.

Using my MISTI Stamp Platform, I curved the sentiment to match the oval, stamped it with Intense Black ink, and embossed it with Clear embossing powder. I like the sentiment outside of the frame… no competition with the beachy scene inside the oval! And I really like that window die! A good amount of detail without being overly fussy – works quite well in simple white – adding great detail and texture to the card while not drawing focus from the scenery!

Let’s try something like this but with a night sky instead… that round sun stamp could just as easily be the moon, right?

On a panel of Pitch Black card stock, I stamped the large ocean stamp with HA Unicorn White pigment ink and let that dry thoroughly before stamping it again with Blue Hawaii Reactive ink. I turned to some Perfect Pearls for the second “ripple’ stamp, inking that with Perfect Medium ink and using the White Perfect Pearl on top. Nice pearlescent reflection without any sparkles! I stamped the moon and the small ‘ripple’ stamp with Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed those with White Sparkle embossing powder (from the October 2020 kit!). Now there’s some glitter! I stamped the clouds (upside-down) on the top of the panel with HA Unicorn White pigment ink, and used a White gel pen to add just the smallest sprinkling of stars in the sky.

I cut a panel of Dark Blue Pearlescent card stock to 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″ and die-cut the window die from the center. I trimmed down the stamped panel to match and glued them both together and down to a White card base. I stamped the sentiment on a scrap of the pearlescent card stock with Unicorn White ink and embossed that with White embossing powder. I die-cut the sentiment with the matching die and glued it to the card front… kind of feels like an extension of the moon’s reflection on the water…! I love it when we get sentiment dies in our kits!

We have all sorts of people and items to populate our seashore, but it felt like the Window die limited the space where we could add those images. I thought I’d skip some of the items in our kit to help me make a more complete scene.

I took a panel of Hero Hues Arctic Card Stock and stamped the second “ripple’ stamp with Unicorn White ink. I also stamped the clouds in the same ink (upside-down again!) on the top of the panel. I ink-blended some Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink on the bottom of the panel for our beach.

I stamped the lighthouse with Granite Core ink and the dock with Charcoal Core ink, and the kids and dog with Intense Black ink. I got some nice reflections in the water by stamping the dock and lighthouse lightly on a piece of acetate, flipping that over and pressing the ink down underneath the original stamping. I stamped the sun in the sky and its reflection ripples with Lemon Drop ink, and added some of the bird footprints going in a few directions down in the lower left corner.

I printed this pun-y sentiment (and oldie but a goodie) on the panel using my Silhouette Software and the Black Jack and DIN Condensed fonts. This is a pretty good approximation of the sentiment fonts in the stamp set. I used some of my Pebbles Chalk pastels for the dark “mist” on the horizon, and some Micro brushes with Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide ink for the shadows on the kids. Some White Gel pen adds more foamy white water where the sea and shore meet. I trimmed this panel down just a little bit and glued it to a White card base. I really like the soft colors here, as well as the reflections and the shadows on this card…. very serene…!

These HeroScape stamps are obviously intended to be used on an A2 card in a portrait orientation – they are all 4.25″ wide. Well, you know me… I’m not happy unless I can figure out a way to use those stamps in a landscape orientation.

I LOVE THIS! The landscape orientation really makes the water/ocean/lake look much more expansive! I stamped the big stamp using Splash Reactive ink, masked off the sky and ink-blended more of the same ink on the sides to extend the stamp to 5.5″ wide. I stamped the second “ripple” stamp with Embossing and Watermark ink, extended that stamp to the edges with an Emboss-it pen, and embossed all with Glacial Blue embossing powder (also from the MMH October 2020 Kit). The smallest ripple stamp is embossed again with the White Sparkle embossing powder.

I flipped the masking around to ink-blend the sky using Blue Hawaii, Purple Galaxy and Licorice Reactive inks. I spattered the stars with some White India Ink, and blended a little moon halo with Unicorn White ink. I die-cut the moon from White card stock using the included die, and ink blended it with Charcoal and Granite Core inks. A tiny round blending brush gives us some nice “craters” on the moon. I trimmed that panel to 3.25″ x 5.5″, added a thin Dark Blue Pearlescent mat (top and bottom) and went to work on my sentiment.

I printed this sentiment directly on a White card base using my Silhouette Software and the Dream State font. This is the ending lyrics to that old stand-by “I’ll Be Seeing You” which was a big hit for Bing Crosby in 1944 – after being featured in the Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten movie “I’ll Be Seeing You” that same year. It seems just about everybody has made a recording of this song from Billy Holiday to Michael Bublé – Rosemary Clooney’s is my favorite! Later, the song became notably associated with Liberace, as the theme music to his television show of the 1950s. A lovely Miss You card!

That feels like a good exploration of the Classic kit. Let’s move on to the Premium kit and those fun layering stencils.

Since we have Splash, Lemon Drop and Taffy inks in this kit, I thought a rainbow was a good start! I blended Stencil ‘a’ (with the large openings) using only the three inks… and got a great green and a nice orange with the blending. I used Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink for Stencil ‘b’ (the outline stencil) and I couldn’t resist doing some foiling with stencil ‘c’. I used the DecoFoil Transfer gel through the stencil, let that dry, and ran it through my laminator with the Gina K. Gold Sequins foil.

This came out so nice that I almost couldn’t bring myself to cut it! I even considered making a 6″ x 6″ card – maybe even a mini slimline card… but, ultimately, I had to return to my standard A2 card format!

I cut the stenciling down to 4′ x 5.25″ and glued it to a thin Metallic Gold mat and down to a White card base. I created this sentiment (good pun!) using my Silhouette Software, printed it on White card stock and cut it out (along with four “blanks”) using my Silhouette Portrait. I glued all five layers together for a dimensional chip-board feel. I added some sparkle highlights on the sentiment using a Gelly Roll Stardust pen and glued it down to the card front. I’m loving this! The photograph doesn’t do the foiling justice – very shiny in person! Looks like a party just waiting to happen!

Now, rainbow seashells aren’t exactly accurate, so I thought I would try a more realistic color palette for these shells.

I like this one almost as much as the rainbow shells! Very beach-y! On a plain panel of Staples Ivory card stock, I used Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink for Stencil ‘a’, Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide ink for Stencil ‘b’, and Aged Mahogany Distress oxide ink for Stencil ‘c’. Of course I couldn’t leave well enough alone, and added some Hero Paste Glitter over the ink on Stencil ‘c’ – it took on the ink color beautifully, and added a nice touch of sparkle as well. Once the glitter paste was dry, I trimmed the panel to 4″ x 5.25″, added a metallic Rose Gold mat and glued those to a White card base.

I liked my “Shellebrate!” sentiment so much I created this dijon-yellow version. I printed, cut and glued five layers as I did previously and even added the glitter highlights as well. We do have this “happy birthday” sentiment in our kit and it turned out to fit just perfectly under the right side of the sentiment. A perfect card for anyone celebrating a birthday on the beach! And that glitter paste adds a really great texture to this card as well!

We only have five sentiments in this stamp set, so I was looking forward to coming up with some (puns?) of my own.

I really do like that Fancy Window die and, since the palm trees are quite prominent, decided that this was a good pun for a straightforward and fairly simple card. I cut the window die from some green pearlescent card stock in my stash, Printed this sentiment on a piece of Hero Hues Arctic card stock using the Hiragino Sans W7 Font, ink-blended Splash ink around the edges, and glued the two pieces together and down to a White card base.

I did manage to fussy cut three complete shells from my original rainbow panel, and added them to the bottom of the oval with foam tape. Those add a nice pop of color and shine and really anchor that Window die. Some crystals and sequins from the Bahama Bliss sequin mix adds a nice finishing touch and lots of sparkle.

I feel like I’ve short-changed the Beach Window Fancy die a little bit, so I thought I’d give it some extra attention… and we get another fun pun!

I die cut the Window die from a 4.25″ x 5.5″ piece of Bristol Smooth card stock, and colored everything with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. On another panel of Ivory card stock, I masked off a horizon line, and used the Splash ink to blend in the water below the masking. I stamped the second ‘ripple’ stamp with Embossing and Watermark ink and embossed it with the Glacial Blue embossing powder. I stamped the sun and the reflection ripples with the Lemon Drop ink and embossed the ripples with the Iridescent Embossing powder. Very interesting embossing powder! As you shift it around in the light, it changes color! The yellow ripples become blue! Cool! I also stamped the leading edge of the first large ripple stamp where the water meets the beach with Embossing ink and embossed that with the White Sparkle embossing powder. That gives us a little foamy water where the waves crash on the shore!

I stamped the sailboat on a scrap of ivory card stock using Granite Core ink and die-cut it with the matching die. I stamped the pelican directly on the colored panel with the same ink. I trimmed the die-cut border on the sailboat and glued it in place – so you can see the sailors between the palm leaves! I added thin strips of foam tape behind the free-floating palm branches and the top of the trunks and glued the rest of the Window die to the inked Ivory panel and then down to a White card base.

I printed the sentiment on a scrap of Ivory card stock using my Silhouette Software and the DIN Condensed Font. I do love this pun! I die-cut the sentiment with an LF Everyday Messages Banner die and mounted it to the card front with foam tape. That really anchors the window die perfectly. I enjoyed coloring the window die (not much else to color in this kit!) but you need to be careful that your background doesn’t compete with your colored die-cut! Love it!

Now, this isn’t a pun… but it is a great play on words…! When I saw the (obviously) Orca Whale stamp I knew what to do!

I stamped the whale in position on a panel of White card stock using Intense Black ink, and I stamped and fussy-cut a mask for the whale at the same time. I placed the mask on the whale, then the circle “sun” mask on top of that and then I masked off the horizon line and ink blended Blue Hawaii below the horizon mask. Then I masked off the water, and ink blended the sky with Lemon Drop ink. I removed all the masks and am left with a great vignette featuring our Killer Whale!

I die-cut the inked panel with a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die (4.5″ x 3.25″) and printed this great sentiment using my Silhouette Software with the Dream State and DIN Condensed fonts. I glued that to a black mat and then to a White card base. Very straightforward but quite impressive just using the Orca stamp and some simple masking. Love it!

And that completes my 10 Cards 1 Kit post inspired by the My Monthly Hero June 2022 Kits. Quite a nice variety of cards and looks this month. I almost used every stamp in this stamp set… I didn’t get to the cairns stamps (the stacked rocks) and I didn’t use the “hello friend” sentiment, but everything else is on the cards! The Beach Window Fancy die is terrific either plain or painted… The seashell layering stencils are simply gorgeous and can be ink blended in an infinite variety of colors… and the water ripple layering stamps work brilliantly! I feel like I need to get to the seashore asap!

Everyone must be yearning for the beach these days as both the Classic and Premium kits have sold out already! Hopefully, I’ve been able to give you a few different takes on ways you can use this kit, and maybe even inspired some ideas of your own!

Thank you so much for sharing your time with me here today. Your support and encouragement mean everything to me! Let me know which cards are your favorites and remember to Like me, List me, Pin me, Post me, Share me with all your friends…. beware of sea urchins and jellyfish… and as always I’m sending you and yours all my Love and Light and Happy Crafting!

DISCLOSURE: This site contains some affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links (at no cost to you). As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you!